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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 1443.PDF
MAY 16, 1940 SOME SECRETS OUT A German Report on Armament Found on Captured Allied Aircraft A REPORT has been made by Dipl.-Ing. JoachimBeseler, of Berlin, on the armament installationsfound on examples of certain types of Allied aircraftwhich have fallen into German hands. The machines con- cerned are versions of the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, Bristol Blenheim, Vickers Wellington, Amiot 143, LeO 45, Potez 63, Morane 406 and Curtiss H 75-Cl. The author points out that the American-built Lockheed Hudson has English armament, whereas France's Curtiss fighter is equipped not with French but with Belgian-built machine guns of the ,F.N.-1938 type (Browning). The version of the Whitley reported upon (one of the earlier series) has a total armament of four machine guns ; one in each of the front and rear turrets (Vickers K), and two Brownings in a retractable and rotatable turret beneath the fuselage. The two last-named guns are operated simul- taneously, being trained and fired by hydraulic means. The rear turret is about 31^ in. in diameter and 33J in. from the level of rotation to the top. The gunner sits in PRESSURE- OILSUPPLY The noseturret of the VickersWellington b o m b e rhousing twin Br owningguns. The stern turretis of similar construction. a cradle-like arrangement, elevation or depression being effected by lowering or raising the- body with the seat. Traverse is given by turning the seat together with the whole upper part of the turret. The gun can be trained independently of the turret and ordinary front and rear sights are provided. It is pointed out that the angles of fire obtainable are dependent to a large extent on the size of the gunner. The range of vision from the turret is con- sidered good, but it is said that sighting is somewhat hindered by the curvature of the transparent panels from which the cupola is constructed. The turret is accessible from the fuselage duiing flight, but access, particularly in thick flying clothing, is considered to be restricted. Pegs for seven ammunition drums (60 rounds each) were found in the turret, but it is pointed out that an unrestricted reserve of ammunition may be carried in the fuselage. The author states that the front turret seemed to be constructed in a similar fashion though exact statements were impos- sible due to the extensive damage. The same applies to the lower turret which seemed to have an hydraulic operation for elevation, traverse and firing. The " steering " device is the same as that used on the Wellington. Deflection of the control lever is about 20 d-;g. ior traverse and the same for elevation. The fore- finger is used to depress the trigger, movement being trans- mitted by a Bowden cable to a hydraulic control box, and from this by means of pressure-oil types to the guns. No statement is made as to the speed of training or to the type and position of the sights. All examples of the Bristol Blenheim which had been examined up to the time the article was written carried the same armament: one fixed gun in the port wing and a second in the dorsal turret. The wing gun is described as being supported relatively simply on two tubes between two struts; the gun is a Browning. A reflector sight is provided for the pilot. In the turret a Vickers K machine gun is placed on what is described as a " heavy pivot carriage " ; the weight is about 66 lb., and the turret is of the full hydraulic type, being controlled by a simple handle. The piston of an oil-pressure cylinder, pivoted at its lower end, moves the (gunner's seat sideways, the stroke being about 12 in. " In addition to this," it is stated, " a similar piston effects an additional stroke of about 30 deg. swing- ing angle." Elevation and depression (plus 70 deg.; minus 45 deg.) are effected by means of another hydraulically- operated piston, the gun and gunner's seat being con- nected by a parallelogram arrangement. A simple reflector sight is provided. The armament of the Vickers Wellington is considered to vary, some machines having six Browning guns in three turrets (nose and stern and lower retractable), while others have the lower turret omitted. The nose and tail turrets are of the same type, the diameter of the ring being about 37m. and the height from the ring to the top of the cupola about 33|in. The gunner sits on a simple seat which is adjustable for body size and follows the rotation of the turret. Oil under pressure is fed to the turret by means of a rotatable connection at the top of the cupola. Control is completely hydraulic and is similar to that already described in the case of the Whitley. On one turret tested full traverse from left to right (190 deg.) took 8 sec. and operation over the full elevation-compression range (100 deg.) about 4 sec. Traverse is effected by a hydraulic motor operating a pinion which acts on the tooth rim of the main ring. There are two oil cylinders. Auxiliary manual operation is provided for traverse, there being a hand crank which can be engaged with the pinion. Sight- ing conditions are not considered very good, and it is stated that in special flying clothes the space is restricted. Each gun is provided with 1,000 rounds of ammunition in a belt of the disintegrating type, and each turret has 1,000 rounds in reserve. The French machine guns examined were exclusively of BROWNING GUNS(M K; ) HYDRAULICALLY CONTROLLED TRIGGER HAND LEVERFOR TRAINING &. COCKING ELEVATION• h. DEPRESSION CYLINDER EMERGENCY \ SEATROTATION \ ADJUSTING HANDLE \ CRANK TRIGGERCONTROL CABLE. The interior of the Wellington nose turret with some of the.... features annotated.
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